92% Drive

Driver: If I drive for you, you give me a time and a place. I give you a five-minute window, anything happens in that five minutes and I'm yours no matter what.I tend to spend most of my time during a film figuring out what is flawed about it, but every once in a while, I am graced with a film where I can sit down and enjoy every minute of it. That's exactly what I got from Drive, a hyper-violent, gruesome, tense, and throughly entertaining film throughout. Not only was it supremely entertaining, it is also wholly original; as well as a masterful lead from indie-guru Ryan Gosling, stylish direction from Nicolas Winding Refn, who all contribute to making Drive one of the best films of the year. Ryan Gosling stars as Driver, who spends his days as a Hollywood stunt driver and a worker and a car repair shop. By night, Driver drives (yep, there will be probably hundreds of uses of the word "drive" in this review) criminals to and from their heist. When a heist involving his neighbors husband who was recently released from prison goes wrong, and the criminals find out who Driver really is, it's time for him to take charge of the situation and to do whatever it takes to get payback and stay alive. I guess the first thing I'll talk about is the fact that it in no way is an action film. It is a tense drama that features some strong violence. There are some defining action moments, but this is mostly a slow paced thriller, which was definitely a brilliant aspect pertaining to the film's style. The first hour or so consists only of strong character development, and a lot of leading up to the last forty minutes where a lot of mindless yet awesome action occurs. The action sequences are arranged quite well. The whole film itself has sort of an art house feel to it, and this action seems pretty gritty, and pretty realistic if I may say. Don't mistake this for another Fast and Furious film, this is its own movie, and the action here is something [similar] to what would really happen in a situation like this. The only thing that was over exemplified was the blood, there was a lot of blood. For anyone who enjoys gruesome films, this is right up your alley. Even if you are into superhero movies, this is for you; according to actor Ryan Gosling (found HERE).Speaking of Ryan Gosling, 2011 seems to be the year of Gosling, as he's starred in the hit romantic comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love (my review can be found HERE), and the upcoming Clooney film The Ides of March. He was also in Blue Valentine, The Notebook, and Lars and the Real Girl. Drive is his best film so far. Even judging by the original trailer, you could tell Gosling would be great. He was spectacular. Seeing Gosling's character strolling down the street, blood stains all over his super-cool Scorpion Jacket is a pleasure to watch. The supporting cast are also definitely great too. I'll start with my favorite of them; Albert Brooks, who switched over from his usual good guy character to a bad-ass man-in-charge, and Brooks' performance is masterful, scary, and sheds some blood. Hellboy star Ron Perlman is also a favorite of mine in this, and is a great addition to an already well-picked cast. The film featured other great performances from Bryan Cranston, Oscar Isaac, Christina Hendricks, and Carey Mulligan.The film gets it's amazingly original arthouse style due to the fantastic direction from acclaimed Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn (Bronson, Valhalla Rising, and another Ryan Gosling film Only God Forgives). Nicolas's directing style is wholly unique, and wholly original, as well as wholly entertaining, and wholly beautiful. What I love the most about his directing style, as far as indie films go, was not only his lack of complexity (I mean that in a good way), but his arthouse style was very unique. I was absolutely mesmerized by it; it is almost impossible to describe, you have to see it to believe it.Drive is one of the best experiences I've had watching a film. It's always good when a movie ends, and you realize that it was flawless (as well as giving it a huge round of applause, as my theater did). Drive is a very fun, gory, gruesome, but has a sense of tense drama moments (which basically consists of the entire first hour until the hyper-violent era of the film occurs), as well as a mesmerizing performance from Ryan Gosling, and great direction from Nicolas Winding Refn, who all make this film that is destined to become a classic.Driver: When you get your money, his debt's paid. He's out for good and you never go near his family again. You understand?

July 30, 2011

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/drive_2011/

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